Lamb, Beef & Pork

The concept expressed by the Sanskrit word ahimsa, which means “avoidance of harm,” is an important one in Hinduism. It’s generally interpreted as forbidding the taking of life. Consequently, many Hindus are vegetarians. Others eat fish but not chicken or meat. (All generalizations invite exceptions, and in this case they include the Rajputs, a warrior caste in Rajasthan, who are famous hunters and have a large repertoire of meat dishes. At the other end of the scale are the Jains, who are scrupulously vegetarian, avoiding even ripe fruit that has fallen from the tree, in case the insect life in it might be harmed.) Because of Hinduism’s largely vegetarian tradition, the repertoire of meat dishes in this chapter draws heavily on the cuisines of the other communities of the Subcontinent: the Muslims of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh; the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka; and the Christian communities of Goa and Kerala.